soooo gigi: The Motherland

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

The Motherland

I took my first trip to Egypt when I was just 13 years old.

Now, 13 years later I finally made it back to visit my family and friends who I had missed dearly. With my father being from Cairo it is very important for me to know my heritage and experience the amazing culture and beauty that Egypt has to offer. Everyone welcomed us with a loving embrace and showed my dad and I a fabulous time! Here are some of the highlights from our trip! Enjoy.

Our first day trip outside of Cairo was to Ain Sukknah, a town on the Red Sea Coast. About 2 hours outside of the Cairo, its a great day trip to escape the unfortunate pollution that surrounds the city and breathe nice clean ocean air! We met up with friends of my family at their home for tea & sweets followed by dinner at Porto Sukknah.

I was invited to a traditional Egyptian wedding with my Cousin Hannah, her cousin Dina and grandmother Magda. The wedding took place at the beautiful Sofitel El Gazirah Hotel on the Nile River complete with Belly Dancers, Singers, A traditional Parade introducing the bride and groom and get this, a sushi bar (Not so traditional). I enjoyed raiding the dessert buffet, my favorite Egyptian sweet is Balah el sham, so naughty but SO good! The singer, pictured above is a famous entertainer who is known for bringing his entourage of dancers (all shapes and sizes as you can see). They were so entertaining and hilarious, we had a great time!

Our next trip outside of Cairo was to Alexandria, also known as the Pearl of Mediterranean. Founded by Alexander the Great, Alexandria was the capital of Egypt for nearly one thousand years.

I was so happy to be there to celebrate my cousin Noha's birthday. She had a big party with a singer and band who preformed famous Egyptian songs all night long!